Steak Fries: Deservedly Reviled or Underappreciated Edible Spoons?

Steak fries. Two words, so promising apart, so dreadful together.

Plank-like in shape and wan in complexion, they sit uncomfortably between genus “fry” and genus “baked potato,” lacking the crunch of the former and the richness of the latter. So totally have they lost the war for the American palette that every encounter with a steak fry is like meeting a Visigoth.

One gapes and wonders, how are you still here?

That question sprang to mind during a recent visit to Park Ave Kitchen by David Burke, a Midtown restaurant that, despite the name, is on Lexington Avenue. Steak fries are rarely spotted these days at upscale venues, and Park Ave Kitchen has a considered, of-the-moment menu, with entrees like bison short ribs and black sea bass tikka masala.

“I noticed them two weeks ago,” said the owner David Burke, on the phone one recent afternoon. “I was at the restaurant and I said, ‘What’s with the steak fries?’”

He had originally posed the question to Park Ave Kitchen’s chef, William Lustberg, but rather than paraphrase his answer, Mr. Burke suggested we get the guy on the phone.

Thirty seconds later, Mr. Lustberg had joined the call.

“They’re just not as common any more and I think they should be,” he said, sounding anything but defensive. “I would love to be part of bringing back steak fries.”